Post on 03-May-2023
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
11828 http://annalsofrscb.ro
A Study to Assess the Knowledge, Practices and Attitude of Mothers on
Newborn Care during COVID -19 Pendemic
Professor Neetu Bhadouria1, Professor Mini Anil
2
1. HOD, Department of Nursing, SONS, ITM University, Gwalior M.P
2. Dean, SONS, ITM University, Gwalior M.P
Email: neetubhadouria001@gmail.com, minianil@itmuniversity.ac.in
Abstract
In India, most of the deliveries happen in homes under the watchful eyes of elders or Trained
Birth Attendants’ (TBA). The care the new born receives depends a lot on the knowledge,
skills and attitude of the mothers during that covid-19 pandemic mothers are supposed to be
lacking in knowledge, practices and attitude of newborn care which is very essential. Ac to
need of present scenario we conduct the study with objectives to assess the knowledge,
practices and attitude, on new born care, among mothers during covid-19& tried to find the
relationship between knowledge on newborn care and selected socio-demographic variables
among p mothers. The next objective is to find the association between attitudes on newborn
care and selected socio- demographic variables amongmothers& to find the association
between newborn care practices of mothers with selected socio-demographic variables. For
thepresent study A descriptive survey was adopted to collect data through structured
interview schedule, structured items and an attitude scale from 100 mothers at M P. The data
was tallied and analyzed using mean, percentage, Chi-Square test and F test for averages and
associations. The findings revealed the average knowledge, practices and attitude scores to be
70.90%, 79.45% and 81.72%. The sociodemographic variables of age, education, occupation
and income were found to be significantly influencing knowledge, practices and attitude level
there was a significant correlation between practice and attitudes levels. The findings of the
study showed that majority of the mothers were between 20 to 40 years old had a family
income more than 5000Rs, an educational status PUC and lived in joint and extended
families. The knowledge levels of mothers were to be good at 70.90% this proves H0. The
practices level and attitude levels were also high though there was a significant correlation
between practices and attitude.
The mother is usual person for the immediate care provider of the newborn. Hence, her
knowledge, attitude and practices regarding newborn care is influenced by various factors.
Even when knowledge is adequate, they may not practice it correctly nor have favorable
attitude towards the care of newborn.
Therefore, educational programs specially directed at mother are a need for time and the
satisfactory performance could be owed to factors such as antenatal clinics, antenatal
counseling, mass media companies and presence of seniors and relatives at home.
Keywords:- ,Knowledge, mothers, newborn care, bathing Coping strategies, attitude.
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
11829 http://annalsofrscb.ro
I.INTRODUCTION Birth of a healthy new born is one of the finest gifts of nature. The process of birth takes only
a few hours but it is the most hazardous period of life since it is associated with largest
number of deaths as compared to any other phase of life
The care newborn receives in the initial weeks is the key to their successful outcome and the
vital factor in the survival and future development of the newbornEvery newborn has the
right to the best possible conditions for its growth and development, especially because
children are assets for the nation’s development. As rightly remarked by W.H.O. “A healthy
child is nation’s pride”.
Mother Plays a key role in identify minor developmental deviations and early evidences of
disease process because she is constantly and closely watching her baby. So she needs the
basic knowledge and skills pertaining to mother craft, child nutrition (feeding),
immunization, environmental sanitation, personal hygiene, and common problems in
children.
With Coronavirus making the headlines almost every day now, it has definitely been
alarming to everyone and especially mothers. The first detection in an infant a couple of days
ago has sparked fear in a lot of mothers even leading to panicked visits to the hospital even
at an innocent sneezeMore than half of the infants deaths occurs in newborn period. Most of
these deaths occur during first week of life. The major causes of these deaths are birth
asphyxia, hypothermia and infection6. Bacterial infections and septicaemia account for about
one fifth of the neonatal deaths. Neonatal bacterial infections are one of the leading causes of
neonatal mortality in developing countries.so it becomes need of the hour to study the
knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers of new born regarding their care and develop
educational programmes to enhance it which will ultimately help to reduce the high infant
mortality rate of the country.
II.Proposed Methodology For the present study Conceptual frameworkadopted was based on modified Dorothy
Johnson’s behavioral model (1980). It provides a comprehensive outlook for the study.
Research methodology The research approach adopted for the study was descriptive survey
approach. Population selected for the study was 100 mothers attending at various Maternity
centres of M.P
Sampling and data collectionThe study samples were selected byusing non- probability
purposive sampling. The data were collected using structured knowledge practice items to
assess knowledge and practices and rating scale to assess the attitude, which consisted of four
(4) sections
The structured interview questionnaire had four sections
Section-I comprising demographic proforma,
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
11830 http://annalsofrscb.ro
Section-II consisted 30 structured knowledge items
Section-III consisted 20 structured practice items
Section- IV 12 structured attitude items
Development of the tool involved steps of construction i.e. preparing the blue print, selection of
items content validation and establishment of reliability
Reliability &Validity of tool Content validity of the questionnaire was done and
modifications were done according to the suggestions given by the experts. Pre-testing and
reliability of the questionnaire was done. The reliability co-efficient for knowledge, practices
and attitude tools were 0.6896, 0.9134 and 0.7249 respectively, and the validity scores were
0.8304, 0.9557, and 0.8514, which were acceptable.
Criteria For Selecting The SampleThe sample selection was based on the following
inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Inclusion criteria
Mothers who are all attending Maternitycenter.
Mothers who are willing to participate in the study.
Mothers who are present during the study.
Exclusion criteria
Mothers who are not willing to participate in the study.
Mothers who are not present during the study.
III. Experiment and Result
Organization of Data for Analysis
The analysis and data was based on the objectives and hypothesis. Both descriptive
and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. Descriptive statistics used
were mean, frequency and percentage with tabular presentation of data. Chi-square
test was used to test the association between levels of knowledge, practices attitude
and sociodemographic variables.
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
11831 http://annalsofrscb.ro
Maternity centres of M.P
Convenience Sampling
Antenatal opd
75
samples
Antenatal ward
25
samples
Purpposive sampling
100 mothers
Schematic diagram of sampling technique
Organization of findings
The data is presented under the following headings:
Section I: Description of sample characteristics. The present study used purposive sampling
as the sampling technique. The size of the sample was 100 mothers attending Maternity
centres in M.P. Sample characteristics included, age, religion, income, educational status,
type of family, occupation and source of information regarding new-born care. Baseline data
containing sample characteristics was analysed by using frequency and percentage.
Section II:
Variables
No of respondents
Percentage
Age
Below 20 years
15
15.00
20-27 years
52
52.00
28-34 years
26
26.00
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
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a) Level of knowledge regarding new-born care,
b)Level of practice regarding new-born care
c)Level of attitude regarding new-born care were analysed by using frequency, percentage
and mean
Section III
a)Association between level of knowledge and sociodemographic variables Analysed by
using chi-square test
b) Association between level of practice and sociodemographic wereanalysed by using chi-
square test.
c) Association between level of attitude and sociodemographicvariables were analysed by
using chi-square test.
35 -40 and above
07
7.00
Religion
Hindu
59
59.00
Christian
09
9.00
Muslim
32
32.00
Income
Rs. 5000-5999
29
29.00
Rs.6000-6999
47
47.00
Rs.7000-7999
13
13.00
Rs.8000 and above
11
11.00
Educational status
Illiterates
08
8.00
Primary
18
18.00
Secondary
27
27.00
Degree
32
32.00
Post graduate
15
15.00
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
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Section IV:Comparison of sociodemographic variables with respect to knowledge, practices,
and attitude scores were done by using F test.
Section V: Correlationbetween level of knowledge, practices, and attitudeof mother on new-
born care
Variables
No of respondents
Percentage
Type of family
Nuclear
27
27.00
Joint
54
54.00
Extended
19
19.00
Occupation
Housewife
40
40.00
Government employee
24
24.00
Labourer
09
9.00
Private
27
27.00
Source of Information regarding New born care
Elders and relatives
39
39.00
Friends and others
20
20.00
Mass media, TV, Radio and news
papers
18
18.00
Health professionals
23
23.00
Total
100
100.00
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
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Presentation of result
SECTION I: DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS
Table No. 1 Distribution of respondents according to socio-demographic variables
1. Distribution of samples in relation to the age
revealed that 15% of the samples were age below 20
years, 52% of the ample belong to 20-27 years, 26%
of the samplebelongsto28-
34years,and7%ofthesamplewasabove35years.
2. In relation to the religion 59% of the sample
belonged to Hindu, 37% to Muslim and 09% to
Christianreligion.
3. Distributionofsampleaccordingtoincomegroupreveale
dthat29%ofthesample was having family income
below Rs,5000-5999 47% between 6000-6999 Rs,
13% between7000-7999 Rs, and 11% above 8000Rs.
4. Distribution of sample according to educational
status 8% of the samples were illiterate, 18% had
primary, 27% secondary, 32% degree, and 15% post
graduate education.
5. Distributionofsampleaccordingtotypeoffamily54%oft
hesamplebelongedto joint family, 27% nuclear, and
19% extendedfamily.
6. Distribution of sample according to occupations 40%
of the samples were housewives, 27% private
employee, 24% Government employees, and
9%wereLabourer.
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
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7. Distribution of sample according to source of
information regarding newborn
care.39%ofthesamplereceivedinformationfromelders
andrelatives,23%from
healthprofession,20%formfriendsandothersand18%fr
ommassmedia,etc..
SECTION II:
Level of Knowledge Regarding New-born Care.
The figure below shows the percentage of sample with adequate, satisfactory and inadequate
levels of knowledge. From the figure, 52 % of the samples are having satisfactory levels of
knowledge, 27 % adequate and 21 % inadequate knowledge
Inadequate (0-14) Satisfactory (15-22) Adequate (23-30)
Fig: Cylindrical diagram depicting percentage distribution of study subjects according to
levels of knowledge scores.
52
21 27
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
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(b) Level of practices regarding new-born care
The figure below shows the percentage of sample with adequate, satisfactory, and
inadequate levels of practices scores, from the figure 55% of sample are having satisfactory
practice score, 25% inadequate and 20% is adequate practices.
Inadequate (0-8) Satisfactory (9-15) Adequate (16-20)
Fig.: Bar diagram depicting percentage distribution of study, subjects according to levels of practice
scores.
(c) Level of attitude regarding new-born care
The figure below shows the percentage of sample with adequate, satisfactory, and inadequate
level of attitude scores, 56 % of samples are having satisfactory attitude scores, 24%
inadequate and 20% adequate.
Inadequate (0-36) Satisfactory (37-48) Adequate (49-60)
Fig. : Pyramidal diagram depicting percentage distribution of study subjects according to the levels of
attitude scores.
55
25
20
56
24
20
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
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SECTION: -III
Section III: To find out association between knowledge Practice and Attitude of new-
born care and socio-demographic variables
• In this study it is found that age, income, education, occupation, source of information
regarding new-born care, were found to have and significant association with knowledge of
new-born care while religion and type of family were not found to have any significant
association with new-born care.
• In this study it is found that educational status had a significant association with
practice scores. Other sociodemographic variables were not found to have any significant
association with practice scores.
• In this study it is found that age, type of family and source of information, had a
significant association with attitude scores. Other sociodemographic variables were not found
to have any significant association with attitude scores.
Section IV: comparison of socio-demographic variables on knowledge,
attitude and practice.
The socio-demographic variables were found to have a systematic
positive influences on the level of knowledge and attitude but not on
practice in the age group of therespondents
Increaseinincomewasfoundtobecauseincreasinginknowledge level but
not on practices andattitude.
Increaseineducationwasfoundtoresultinknowledge,attitude,practices
Type of family joint and extended families resulted increased in
knowledge but typeoffamilydidnotinfluenceonpracticeorattitudescore.
Occupation was found to cause increase in knowledge level but not on
practice andattitude.
Source of information was found to have a significant positive
influence on level of knowledge and attitude but not onpractices
Section V: The correlation between knowledge, practices and attitude among
mothers on new-borncare
The correlation between knowledge, practices and attitude assessed by Karl
Pearson’s correlation coefficient shows a significant correlation between practice
and attitude but no significant correlations were found for knowledge with
practice or attitude.
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
11838 http://annalsofrscb.ro
IV. CONCLUTION In the present study, the investigator intended to assess the knowledge, practices and attitude
of mother regarding new-born care and the influence of sociodemographic variables on them.
Following conclusions were drawn based on findings of the study
1. The majority of mothers were in the age group of 20-27. The age group of 28-34 had
20% of the sample.2.
2. Fifty-one percentages (51%) of mothers were regularly employed while 40% were
housewives.
3. Forty-seven (47%) mothers were educated above PUC level.
4. Majority (73%) of mothers in the study belong to joint or extended families.
5. Majority (71%) of this sample had a monthly income of Rs. 5000 or above.
6. There was found to be significant association between within age and knowledge,
income and knowledge, occupation and knowledge, source of information and
knowledge, education and knowledge.
7. There was found to be significant association between education and practices, type
of family and practices.
8. There was found to be significant association between age and attitude, type of
family and attitude and source of information and attitude.
9. The result showed that primigravida mothers had 70.90 % knowledge, 79.45%
practices and 81.72 % attitude mean percentage scores.
10. There is a significant correlation between a practice and attitude,
implications:
The findings of this study have implications for the nursing profession. The present
study, emphasized knowledge, practices and attitude of mothers of a particular
community regarding newborn care. During covid -19 pandemic
The mother is usual person for the immediate care provider of the newborn. Hence,
her knowledge, attitude and practices regarding care of newborn is influenced by
various factor. Even when knowledge is adequate, they may not practice it correctly
nor have favorable attitude towards the care of newborn.
LIMITATIONS
The study was limited by the time constraint for interview data collection.
The study was limited to mothers regularly attending antenatal clinics.
The study was limited tothe mothersof a particular state .
The result may be biased due to the homogeneity of the sample.
The size of the sample was only 100. Hence it was difficult to make a broad
generalization.
Annals of R.S.C.B., ISSN:1583-6258, Vol. 25, Issue 6, 2021, Pages. 11828 - 11841
Received 25 April 2021; Accepted 08 May 2021.
11839 http://annalsofrscb.ro
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